


In The Middle

by Shaderose



Series: Parkner Week 2020! [4]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Bisexual Michelle Jones, Bisexual Peter Parker, Coming Out, Cute, Date Night, Established Relationship, First Dates, Fluff, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Movie Date (mentioned), Mutual Pining, Pansexual Harley Keener, Pining, Pining Peter Parker, Polyamory, Polyamory Negotiations, again mentioned - Freeform, but not really
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-04
Updated: 2020-08-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:35:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25709050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shaderose/pseuds/Shaderose
Summary: "Thank you," He whispers gently, leaning forward and pressing his head into her chest, and she wraps her arms around his back, one rubbing soothing circles onto his back and the other scratching his scalp gently, playing with his hair the way she knows he likes.They stay like that for a few moments, a few breaths while they hear the movie playing unheard, unwatched in the background, until MJ decides to bring it back up, knowing they have to talk about it at some point. "So," she starts calmly, "now that that is out of the way, let's go back to the 'you definitely have a crush on Harley Keener' thing."~~“I will pepper in the fact that I am gay”/Coming out/first date (mentioned)~~What are you doing Friday?Wanna help my worlds collide?Let's make a bow with old cut tiesDo you want his number?Or shall I be the one to call?I haven't seen him much at all...
Relationships: Harley Keener/Peter Parker, Michelle Jones/Harley Keener/Peter Parker, Michelle Jones/Peter Parker
Series: Parkner Week 2020! [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1857949
Comments: 19
Kudos: 81
Collections: Parkner Week 2020





	In The Middle

**Author's Note:**

> Day 4!  
> This is the first time I've ever written poly, or MJ at all, so if its wrong/the characterization is off, I'm very sorry lol. I tried
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy! 🥰

Michelle notices _pretty_ much right away. It isn't hard to see; at least, not to someone who _watches_ and _observes_ all the time.

The way Peter's eyes crinkle with his big, wide smiles whenever he's around. The way he laughs, a full, real belly laugh at all of his jokes, good or bad. The way his ear tips goes that rosey red, similar to the blooming in his cheeks whenever he says a pet name, like darlin' or sugar or sweetheart, whatever it might be for the day. The way his feet are always tilted towards him when they're stood together, in a circle or side by side. The way he stands as close as he can, in a way that can still be read as platonic but is still close enough to touch, for their shoulders to brush and their fingertips catch as they walk.

Its the way Peter was, and still is, with Michelle. The awestruck puppy love of a crush that MJ _knows_ her boyfriend is trying to hide but is failing miserably at doing so.

And she also knows that she should _probably_ be upset by it. Should probably be jealous, or bitter, or _hurt_ , knowing her boyfriend likes someone else, and _wants_ someone else. But she, surprisingly (even to herself) isn't.

She knows that Peter loves her- they had told each other a few months into their relationship on the floor of his carpeted bedroom, in the early wakes of dawn, whispered in hushed, quiet tones with flush faces and warm grins on their faces-, she feels secure enough in their relationship to know that Peter wouldn't just _drop_ her to go off with someone else, knows that even with his not-so-tiny crush on one Harley Keener that he still loves her with all of his heart, and wants to be with her for however long the flame lasts (he never says anything about marriage, probably because he knows she'd say its a social contruct that they don't need to have a forfilled life and relationship, but she knows thats what he truly wants, in the future, and honestly, she kind of does too).

Honestly, she's pretty open to the idea of a multi-person relationship. She wouldn't mind if Harley wanted to join along with them, turn their two into a three, as long as it made Peter happy. She never really understood why relationships were limited to two people, anyways. Wouldn't the more the marrier be better?

She's just waiting for Peter to bring it up to her. Or, for him to accidentally say something and them ramble all cute like he always does when he feels guilty about something out of his control, and then they could talk about it. Then, they could actually _get somewhere_ with it.

But he never does. He never brings it up, never slips, even as the days turn into months of pining and stealing glances to the blond haired blue eyed boy from afar, at the lunch table at school, in class, even in the hallways and in between classes (whenever Peter stares, MJ can't help but to look, too, and admit to herself that she can understand _why_ Peter has a crush on the boy. He is extremely good looking, even if he looks like the stereotypical jock-whos-secretly-a-twink). He couldn't even keep _Spider-Man_ a secret from her for this long, and she can't help but to admit that she's a little impressed underneath all of the annoyance.

So she waits, and waits, until she realizes he's _never_ going to bring it up to her if he can help it, and that she's gonna have to all of the work herself. Typical Parker.

~~

She waits until their "date night" to strike. Its not really a date night, more so of a hang out session between her, Pete and Ned, but whenever Ned can't show for one reason or another, it gets turned into a self imposed Date Night, according to Peter. And, thankfully (well, thankfully in this situation, MJ tends to miss Ned whenever he can't show, though she'd never admit it), this is one of those nights.

She goes into it with a plan in mind, and it _almost_ goes in her favor. She lets Peter decide what they're gonna do- watch a movie and cuddle, cause apparently MJ looks tired and he doesn't want her straining too much (it doesn't make her heart melt and her face flush, it _doesn't_ )-, allow it to happen for a bit, maybe an hour or two- where she sinks into his embrace, feeling so so safe wrapped in his arms, and presses her face into his neck, thinking _'huh, he was right, I am kinda tired'_ \- and then, finally bring it up.

However, MJ feels herself sinking into his hold, feels her eyelids growing heavy and her breaths getting heavier, slower, and slowly forgets about her ideas and her plan, until-

"Hey, babe? You still awake?" Its a faint whisper, rumbling his chest but it does its job, and MJ blinks her eyes open (that she didn't even realize she had closed), before forcing herself to sit up more and shake the lingering sleepiness from her body.

"Yeah, obviously." She scoffs, even though its _pretty obvious_ she wasn't, if the faint, amused, loving smile Peter gives tells her anything. "What's up?"

It falls quickly though, just as Peter's shoulders hunch slightly and he starts to pick at his fingers, one of the many nervous ticks MJ has picked up on over the almost year of their relationship. "I- uh-" He rubs the back of his neck, then, nervous tick number two. "I gotta tell you something."

_Finally._ It took him long enough, for fucks sake. "Let me guess, you have a humongous crush on Harley?" She raises an eyebrow as he starts to sputter, extremely similar to the way he looked on the bridge in Prague, his face burning a bright red and his eyes wide, full of shock, guilt and shame, something she's _definitely_ gonna have to change.

"W-What?!? No! No, no, I dont-" He laughs, but its clearly nervous, clearly forced. "I dont have a crush on Harley, what do you- I love _you,_ M." She just stares at him, unimpressed and clearly not swayed, until he continues, stammering, "I was- I was _gonna_ say is that, uh," He looks down, looks like a puppy that just got scolded for chewing the cushions apart, and MJ already knows she's not gonna get mad at him for this, whatever he's about to say. Unless its like, murder or something, but she highly doubts Peter would do something like that. That'd be kinda redundant, with the whole Spidey gig. "The new Avengers called me to help them on a mission, soon. In a few days."

"Oh-kay?" She tilts her head, eyebrows furrowed. "Isn't that a good thing? You're going on a mission!" MJ knows how much Peter used to, and still kind of does even if he doesn't admit it, long for a mission. First, from Tony, and now from the new set of Avengers born through the ashes and dust of the old, a Phoenix in the eyes of the city and the country.

"It _is_ ," Peter relents a little, " _But_... I'm gonna be gone for a week. Maybe two." He glances up from where he was staring at his twiddeling hands, giving her the saddest, most apologetic look she's ever seen. And yeah, it sucks, she's gonna miss (and worry) about her boyfriend while he's gone, but its not like she's gonna _stop_ him from going.

"That's fine." She murmurs lightly, reaching out and grabbing one of his hands to rub over the back of his palm gently. "I don't care."

It could come off as blunt and rude, she knows that, but she _also_ knows that Peter won't take it to heart, will see between the lines and know what she _truly_ means, and from the way he looks at her with pure relief and gratitude, she knows he does. "Thank you," He whispers gently, leaning forward and pressing his head into her chest, and she wraps her arms around his back, one rubbing soothing circles onto his back and the other scratching his scalp gently, playing with his hair the way she knows he likes.

They stay like that for a few moments, a few breaths while they hear the movie playing unheard, unwatched in the background, until MJ decides to bring it back up, knowing they have to talk about it at some point. "So," she starts calmly, "now that that is out of the way, let's go back to the 'you definitely have a crush on Harley Keener' thing."

He stiffens again, before deflating and whining into her chest, his ear tips turned bright red. "I dooont." She just stays silent for a few seconds, staring at the back of Peter's neck as he crumbles more and more before he cracks, sitting up suddenly, looking _scared_. "Okay, maybe I do, a little, but I swear its just a crush, and I didn't mean for it to happen, it just did, I haven't done anything with him, and I _won't_ I promise, you're the only one I want- well not really but you know what I mean, and-"

"Woah woah, Pete, wait," She holds up a hand and he stops suddenly, his mouth closing with a quick click. "I don't mind."

He blinks at her, mouth gaping for a few seconds, before a strangled "Huh?" escapes.

She just chuckles, her chest swelling with warmth as she thinks ' _God I love him'_. "I _don't mind_ , Peter. If you have a crush. If you wanna date him-"

"But-" she holds up her hand again, with a raised eyebrow, and he stops, looking sheepish.

"If you want him to _join_." She emphasizes the end, hoping he'll take the hint, but when he just looks back at her, dumbfounded, she continues. "Like, join the two of us. Join the relationship."

"Like-" His eyes narrow, his face scrunched as he thinks, another small little thing about the boy that she adores so much. She tries to retain the face to memory to sketch it later. "Like Sister Wives?"

She pretends to stifle a sigh, even though in reality, she's trying her hardest not to laugh. "Kinda. Without the whole religious, marriage bullshit."

"And you would be... okay with that?" Peter is looking at her intensely, now, browns looking black in the darkness of the room, but still so gorgeous to her. "With me, dating you _and_ Harley? Because if you aren't, then we don't have to-"

"I wouldn't bring it up if I wasn't comfortable, Parker." She interupts firmly, making sure he loses all doubt. "And, honestly? He's pretty good looking. And nice, I guess." She shrugs, glancing away as she feels her cheeks burning, hoping Peter doesn't notice her sudden fluster. "I get it."

But he does, because of course he does, a bright, amused grin painted onto his features. He knows better than to comment on it, though. "You're pretty good looking, too."

"I know." He snorts, then, and she grins back, until they're both falling into chuckles and laughs.

"And you don't-" He murmurs, once they settle down again, "Don't mind me being... bi? Or, liking men? I dunno if I'm actually bi, or pan, or whatever, Harley was the first- boy I've ever liked. And I was gonna tell you, I swear I was, I was just gonna like, sprinkle in the fact that I was gay at some point but I couldn't find the right time and then I'd have to tell you about Harley and I just-"

"Pete," She calmly stops his ramble again, giving him a rare, real and gentle smile. "I dont mind. Of course I don't mind, I'm bi, too."

His eyes widen, jaw dropping. "Really?"

She just nods once, simple. "Yeah. Thought it was obvious." When he shakes his head, she just shrugs again. "Girls are pretty." He nods again, like that's valid, before they go back to sitting in silence for a bit.

"So," Peter whispers once they're leaning against each other again, MJ snuggled into his side, his arm wrapped around her shoulders and holding her closer. "How do we go about this?"

MJ just stares at him incredulously. "You ask him out, dumbass."

"But he knows we're together," He rolls his eyes playfully, glaring down at her, even as genuine concern swirls in those irises. "I don't want him to think I'm cheating on you with him or something."

She just shifts closer to him again, and sighs lightly, closing her eyes once comfortable. "Then we'll ask him together."

~~

"Maybe- maybe we shouldn't do this." Peter stammers, his hands shaking and MJ just rolls her eyes at his dramatics, wondering how he got the courage to ask _her_ out all those months ago when he could barely look in Harley's direction right now.

"We're doing this." She states in a tone of finality, leaning back against the lockers and watching the crowds of people walking past, trying to spot the familiar ryestalk hair and bright blue baseball cap that she knew Harley had on earlier.

He makes a faint anxious noise in the back of his throat. "But- but what if-"

She sits up straight as soon as the bright blue cap comes into view, Harley walking beside one of his football buddies and laughing at whatever he said, his smile bright showing off his dimoles and his eyes alight. It sends MJs heart racing, and she wonders what it does to the boy next to him if _she_ gets such a reaction. "Hey, Harls!" She shouts over the noise of the hallway, and Harley freezes, turning to look over at them with a tilted head and a furrowed brow.

She hears another noise come from behind her, but she ignores it, waving the taller boy over and watches as he says a few words to his friend before walking towards them. Peter shifts, noticably anxious, while MJ stays put, forcing her usual bored expression onto her face as she feels herself start to get anxious, too.

"Hey y'all," Harley enters into the circle easily, completely at ease and lax as shifts his weight from one foot to the other, grinning at the two of them. "Whats up?"

"Nothing!" Peter blurts out, before his face turns bright red, and he starts to ramble, words tumbling out of his mouth with no control, "well, not _nothing_ , but nothing much, we arent- we aren't doing anything special or important or anything just, you know, _chilling_ , relaxing-"

"We wanted to ask you something." MJ gets to the point, knowing her boyfriend never would, ignoring again his squeak of nerves.

Harley just raises an eyebrow at them, though his smile lowers a little, seeming confused and seeming to sense that this was a little more serious than usual. "Oh?"

She looks to Peter, then, and gives him a look, telling him to take the lead seeing as he is the one with the crush, after all. Peter just gives her a fearful look, before turning to Harley with an obviously forced calm. "Uhm, yeah! We uh," Again, with the picking at his nails. "We wanted to know if you, uh... if you wanted to, uhm, _join_. Us. This." We waves towards her and himself. "As in like, dating. Me. And us. Or, going _on_ a date, anyways. You don't have to!" He states firmly, arms flailing. "You don’t have to do _any_ of this if you aren't comfortable, or don't want to, or aren't interested, I know it's a lot and kinda crazy and maybe kinda weird-"

"Wait, pause," Harley looks very bewildered now, and honestly, MJ doesn't blame him. "Are you- both of you- asking me out?"

"Peter is." She clarifies. "I'm just here to help, because Peter wouldn't do it himself."

Her boyfriend gawks. "I would have!... _Eventually._ "

"So, you don't- mind?" Harley looks at her, then, and she shakes her head.

"Nah, not really. I know he loves me. He just likes you too." She tilts her head them, sizes him up. "Just dont steal him away too much, got it?"

Peter squeaks again, his bright red head in his hands. " _M,_ he hasn't even said yes yet! Or _anything!_ "

"I mean," The blond cuts back in then, looking shocked but much... happier. Brighter. "Yeah, I'm down if you guys are."

Peter's head shoots up. "Wait, really??"

Harley nods, grinning wide, even wider than before. "Yeah, really. I really like you, Pete, I just thought I didn't have a chance because of, well-" He waves to MJ, and she rolls her eyes at him.

"Oh. Wow." Peter is flushed, but pleased, eyes sparkling. "Okay. So, m-maybe dinner? This weekend? Or a movie?"

"Movie sounds good." Harley sounds shy, now, his cheeks rosey too. The bell rings, and Harley glances up, before looking back to Peter with a simple smile. "Text me the details later, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, of course!" Peter grins back, and Harley gives them both one last look, adoring at Peter and thankful, respectful towards MJ, before walking away with a pep in his step that wasn't there before.

Peter stares after him, his face full of mushy emotions, full of excitement and joy and _love_ , and MJ just smiles at him gently, her heart warm.

And a few days later, she helps her boyfriend get ready for his date, and watches him leave with stars in his eyes and a smile burned into his face, and knows that this was truly the right thing to do, for Peter's, Harley's, and her own happiness.

**Author's Note:**

> Based off the song: In the Middle by Dodie
> 
> Come say hi to me on tumblr! @shadedrose01 :)


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